Ron Atkinson has been involved in professional football as a player, manager and media pundit for more than 40 years.

Atkinson is now widely recognised as "Big Ron" but it was as "The Tank" that he first earned a reputation, playing more than 400 games for Oxford as they rose from the Southern League to Division Two.

Atkinson had joined Oxford after failing to make the grade at first club Aston Villa, whom he joined in the late 1950s.

But it was as a manager that Atkinson was to really make an impression in the game.

Southern League side Kettering was his first appointment before success led to him being offered the post at Cambridge in 1974.

He led them to the Fourth Division title in 1977 and moved on to West Brom a year later.

He did not win any major honours at The Hawthorns but he impressed enough with the club to be offered the Manchester United top job in 1981.

Atkinson enjoyed the best spell of his managerial career at Old Trafford, winning the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 and not finishing lower than fourth in the First Division.

His failure to win the title, however, cost him and in 1987 he made way for Sir Alex Ferguson.

He returned to West Brom for a year and then had a brief spell with Atletico Madrid before coming back to England with Sheffield Wednesday in 1989.

The Owls endured relegation under his charge but they bounced back to the top flight and also won the League Cup in 1991.

His success attracted Aston Villa, whom he led to the Premiership runners-up spot in 1993 and League Cup success in 1994 before being sacked by Doug Ellis after a poor start to the following season.

Coventry became his next port of call in February 1995. He twice managed to keep the club in the top flight but not without a fight and he handed over to assistant Gordon Strachan after 21 months in charge.

He was 'moved upstairs' to director of football but wanted to get back into management and filled in for six months at Wednesday, keeping them in the top flight in 1998.

He attempted a similar salvage operation at Nottingham Forest a year later but was unable to prevent their relegation from top flight.

He left management in May 1999, since when he has concentrated largely on his media career.

He has never been everyone's cup of tea but sayings such as "early doors", "lollipop" and "back stick" earned him a cult following and there is a website dedicated to his on-air sayings.